I always hated that part of the sing-songy-trick-or-treat-greeting.  It was gross and sounded rude. And I’ve never been a big fan of that kind of humor.

I’ve always had a love hate relationship with Halloween.  I love the costumes and dressing up and the fun and games and yes the candy but was never comfortable (in fact fit-throwing-get-my-way-uncomfortable) about the scary horror aspect of it.  I still hate it to this day.  And that’s putting it mildly.

So now that I have revealed my deepest darkest fears, I will talk about the part I do like.  No make that LOVE! The COSTUMES!!!! and the candy.  But mainly the costumes.

Vintage Halloween with my sister & cousin.  She’s the one hamming it up.

As a kid my costumes ranged anywhere from the store bought plastic tarps and safety hazard masks of your favorite cartoon character to homemade fantastical creations that my mom sewed; sure to win that blue ribbon at the Fall Festival. Store bought Lemon Meringue (can I get a shout out from the Strawberry Shortcake Fan Club?), homemade Grumpy Carebear (yeah laugh all you want about that being “sooooo fitting”), and I think there were a couple of reused ballet recital costumes in there somewhere.

As I grew older I started making my own.  I think the first I really started having input on was my Ghostbuster costume in the 4th or 5th grade.  Yeah you know it, “Who ya gonna call?”  There was the Statue of Liberty and Marie Antoinette (prior to the guillotine – remember no gore) in highschool.  By natural calling as you can see, I worked in the theatre’s costume shop all 5 years of college.  Let me just say the limitations were endless at that point.

In the early years of motherhood I made my kid’s costumes.  You know when you go through that super-mom phase. Dragons, ladybugs, Knights of the Round Table, Jessie & Buzz (yes those were homemade, remember Super-Mom).  They quickly grew into the idea that they wanted the store bought costumes more than they wanted to wait till the last minute for some handmade costume made from a sweat suit that could be reused afterward.  They wanted it to stay the costume.  And who could blame them.  Although last year I was pretty proud of my efforts.  All homemade (for the most part).  There was Tron, a red ninja and Princess Darth Vadar. 

Recently since we have been back in Arkansas we have had jolly times with dear friends and their big Halloween Parties.

Mine are the Jr and Sr Storm Troopers (or are they Clone Troopers?) and the black Goth like one in the middle with her head turned.

One year I went as a slightly Goth Little Bo Peep while Ben wore a a black t shirt with a sheep painted on it baring the word “LOST”.  He and I also went as Charlie Brown and Linus.
  
This year we sort of have a Doctor Who theme.  Well a Doctor Who theme plus Red Riding Hood. 

Warning: This next part is completely geeked out and from way out in nerdom left-field. 
David wants to go as the 10th Doctor and Luke wants to go as a Weeping Angel.  As you can probably guess these costumes can’t really be bought at Walmart or Target. 

Even Halloween Express failed us this year.  So we are trying to nail down a blue blazer on the cheap side and I must get some stone grey material to fashion a toga-esque tunic for my winged-vampire-fanged-evil garden statuary.  I did have aspirations back before the summer of going as a TARDIS but time is funny and easily can get away from you.  Wibbly Wobby Timey Wimey.    So I think I will just make a t-shirt that says “Hello Sweetie”, strap a 6-gun and holster to my hip and go as River Song.

Yes, if you’re not a Whovian all of this will sound completely foreign to you.  But if you speak Time Lord then “Come Along Pond”  Let’s go Trick-r-Treating!!!

More Blog Articles From Arkansas Women Bloggers on our Fall Blogging Challenge.